Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-10-20
nOualy apread that

Dillon, j. Z. Horn, Martin Lacy, Jas.
G. Kays, w. r.. Burke, Albert Rim
pau, S. M. White, Jos. Mesmer, s.
Grant. D. Desmond, r. Steele, G. I.
Stamm, B. Reeves, j. w. Wolfskill,
Victor Ponet, DIR. II. Nadeau,. Rev.
Father A. j. Meyer. These gentlemen
will meet to-day at 2 P. NJ. at the Rev.
Father Pietro's hall.
Following is a brief sketch OF the
life OF the eminent gentleman in hont r
of whom the meeting was held:
THE CARDINALS LIFE.
Cardinal Gibbons was born in the
city of Baltimore, of which he after
ward became Archbishop and where
last year the scarlet cap was con-
ferred on him. July 23d, 1884, was
the date of his birth. At an early
age he was taken to Ireland by his
father, and there his education began.
When he returned he entered st.
Charles College, Harvard county,
Maryland, and graduated therefrom
in 1857. He continued his theolog-
ical and other studies at the
Seminary of st. Sulpice and st. Mary's
University, and was ordained for the
priesthood on June 80. 1861, by the
Most Reverend Francis Kenrick. He
became assistant priest at st. Patrick's
Church, in Baltimore, and afterward
went to st. Bridget's Church. He
was made Secretary to the Archbishop
and acted as Assistant Chancellor at
the second Plenary Council.
When North Carolina was made a
Vicarate Apostolic he was selected to
presiue over it, and on August 16,
1868, he vas consecrated as titular
Bishop of Andramytum. He was
translated to the See of Richmond on
July so, 1872, and on May 20, 1877,
he was appointed coadjutor to the
Archbishop of Baltimore. Archbishop
Bayley died soon after, and on October
3, 1877, Bishop Gibbons was named
in his stead. At the third Plenary
Council of Baltimore, in November,
1884, the Most Rev. James Gibbons,
d. d., presided as the Apostolic Dele
gate OF the Holy See.
Archbishop Kenrick, who had con-
secrated him to the priesthood, was
called upon in 1856 to confer still
higher religious honors upon this dig
nitary, and on June 30th of that year
the scarlet head-cap, which had been
brought from Rome nine days before
by Monsignor Straniero and Court
Stanislaus Muccioli, was placed on the
newly created Cardinals head. Arch
bishop Ryan preached the sermon on
that day.
Simplicity and good-heartedness
are among Cardinal Gibbons charms.
His sermons are devoil of rhetorical
and his book, "The Faith
of Our Fathers" is clear and direct in
language.
Among the incidents of his busy
life is one connected with his term as
parish priest at the town of Elkridge:
near Baltimore. An epidemic of
broke out there, and all who
could fled the village. An old negro
was deserted by his family, and left
without food or medicine. Father
Gibbons, when informed, hurried to
his bedside, remained with him until
he died, and as there was no one to
assist him, he placed the body in IL
coffin, dragged it to grave, and there
buried the corpse, after performing
the last rites.
AS Vicar-Apostolic of North Caro-
lima he had no easy time. All-day
rides on horseback, through regions of
pines; sleeping at night in log cabins
and su5sisting on meals of fat bacon
and hoe-cake, were part OF his career
as missionary among the North Caro-
lima negroes.
One amusing episode is told con-
cerning him. While Bishop of Rich
mond he was the defendant in a suit
relrting to some church property.
When he was called to the witness
stand the plaintiff g lawyer, a distin-
guished member of the Richmond
bar, after vain efforts to involve
the witness in contradiction, struck
on plan which he thought would an
noy the Bishop. He thereupon ques-
toned Bishop Gibbons right to the
title OF Bishop of Richmond, and
called upon him to prove his claim to
the office. The defendants lawyer
objected to this as irrelevant, but the
Bishop, with a quiet smile, said he
would comply with the request if al
lowed half-hour to procure the neces-
sary papers. This was allowed. The
Bishop left the court room and re-
turned in twenty minutes with
a document which he proceeded
to read with great solemnity-all the
more solemn as the paper was in
Latin. The plaintiffs lawyer pretend
ed to take notes industriously, bowling
his head once in while as if in ac-
and seeming perfectly
at the end. When the
reading was finished he announced
that the Papal bulls just read were en-
tirely satisfactory, at the same time
apologizing for his expressed doubts.
The next day it leaked out that the
Bishop, unable at once to find the
Papal bulls at his residence, had
brought to the court and read a Latin
essay on Pope Leo the Great, written
by one of his ecclesiastical students
and forwarded by the president of the
college as a specimen of the young
mans skill in Latin composition.